


Paint Night

by Katzedecimal



Series: Frenemy Mine [8]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: American Sign Language, Deaf Character, Developing Relationship, M/M, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 14:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6707173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katzedecimal/pseuds/Katzedecimal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry and Hartley attend a Deaf event together and Barry gets a little confused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paint Night

**Author's Note:**

> As with a previous fic, I had hoped for the Deaf characters' ASL in this fic to be translated into ASL gloss by a native ASL user, but unfortunately that didn't happen this time :( Rather than insult the language by attempting to do it myself, I chose instead to write the dialogue in English. I'm sad about that, as I feel it doesn't serve to illustrate either the complexity of ASL, or the progress that Hartley and Barry make in learning it. Ah well, c'est la vie. 
> 
> As always, the experiences of Hartley and Barry among the Central City Deaf community are informed by the experiences of myself and my spouse in our local Deaf community.

_Fuuuu didn't put the alarm on radio again._ Hartley flung his arm out and flailed around but didn't feel the clock radio. His hand found something solid and he hit it but the buzzing whine didn't stop. He cracked his eyes open, realizing that the whine wasn't from an alarm clock. 

'Good morning,' Barry signed, smiling gently, 'You slept about seven hours.'

'That much?' Hartley replied. He picked up his glasses from the floor and tapped his ear. 

'Here-are your implants,' Barry held up a small cup of sanitising solution with the wires floating in it. 

Hartley nodded, 'P-i-p-e-l-i-n-e? Why?'

'I thought maybe you actually sleep here,' Barry shrugged.

Hartley nodded again and looked around. He was in the less populated part of the metahuman prison, quieter than a regular jail, certainly. Barry pushed over a tray of breakfast and he took it with a smile of thanks. 'Is-that the only reason?'

Barry shook his head. He looked around at the cell then glanced at Hartley, 'If you had STAR Labs, what would you do with it?' 

Hartley thought about how to reply. He stared at his hands, realizing he didn't have the vocabulary to express what he needed to say. Then with a sigh, he reached for the cup of sterilising solution and withdrew the wires. The whining tinnitus faded in exchange for pain. He sipped his coffee, waiting for his head to adjust to the change in sound and sensation. "Alternative power generation," he said finally, "This place is set up for it, it wouldn't take much to convert it."

Barry shook his head, bewildered, "Wouldn't we need some kind of generator for that?"

"Yes. Roscoe Dillon was working on a new kind of stepped turbine when he was seconded to the particle accelerator project, and when he was demoted, he went back to designing it on the side. Last I heard, he hadn't sold it yet."

"What would we need?"

"Venture capital. But I have a few designs ready to go into production, if I can find a buyer to partner with."

"What kind of designs?"

"Acoustics," Hartley said promptly, "Audio equipment, stuff that'll sell. That was always the intention." He looked away, voice trailing off wistfully. 

Barry nodded thoughtfully. "I know some people, maybe we could talk to them."

The P.A. system crackled and a voice said "Barry? We've got one, armed robbery, corner of Bates and Infantino."

"I'm on it," Barry replied. He smiled at Hartley and patted his knee, "I'll catch you later. And I told Cisco to lay off of you. Tell me if he doesn't."

Hartley nodded silently, too stunned to speak. 

* * * * 

"Hello," he said as the door irised open, "I'm Cisco Ramon, I'll be your server for today."

Hartley stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. "What?"

Cisco shrugged and grinned a little, "Barry said he'd make us wear a get-along shirt if we couldn't do it ourselves."

Hartley chuckled and shook his head, "Barry never said anything to me about a get-along shirt." He thought back to what he'd told Barry and shrugged, "Hartley Rathaway, the Pied Piper. Pleased to meet you." They shook hands formally. Hartley hesitated for a moment then asked, "I thought Harrison Wells was... gone?"

"He's not the same guy as ours," Cisco agreed, "Did Flash tell you anything about the other Earth?"

Hartley was immediately alert. "Earth Two? Yes, he said a few things. He's from there?"

"Yeah," Cisco nodded.

"So he's not the same, but you still don't trust him?" 

Cisco looked grudgingly impressed, "Not since we found out he was trying to steal the Flash's speed for Zoom. My research on the Turtle was **supposed** to stop Zoom, not Flash." 

"The Turtle?"

"Human kinetic black hole. He absorbed movement, sort of thing. He slowed people down until they stopped moving."

"Reeeeeeally," Hartley said, definitely intrigued, "So why are you telling me this?"

Cisco pushed his hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. "Barry's right," he said at last, "We need help with a couple of things and you've put a lot of effort into stopping Zoom already and..." He blew out another sigh, "The enemy of my enemy is my ally? Right?"

Hartley regarded him for long seconds before he nodded. "Right."

* * * *

A little after lunch, the door irised open and Barry walked in, followed by Detective West. "Hi guys!" he said, "We've got good news!"

"Mason Stonebridge has dropped the charges," Joe said, staring at Hartley, "It seems the FBI have taken his son into custody."

Hartley smiled innocently, "Is that so?"

Barry stared from one to the other. "Now hang on... Before I took you in, you texted somebody!"

"My lawyer," Hartley confirmed, "Telling her to release the files to Agent Giuseppe. I told you I was going to anyways, I just did it a little earlier than anticipated, that's all. It'll still be enough to secure at least one conviction."

Barry look at Detective West, "Is he still free to go?"

"Not quite," Joe drawled, "The owner of the Cobalt Blue restaurant is still pressing charges for theft."

"So now you're in the Pipeline for stealing leftovers," Cisco grinned, "Dude that is insanely awesome and also hilarious."

"Don't do the crime, don't do the time," Joe agreed, "I had a word with the judge who's going to hear your case. For now, you get to wear this shiny ankle bracelet."

Hartley arched an eyebrow with a smirk, "That is so not going to go with my boots." He held still while it was attached. 

"Are we still going to be able to go to the Paint Nite?" Barry asked. 

Cisco brightened up, "There's a Paint Nite? Cool! Can I come?"

Barry shook his head, "It's a Deaf event, it's all going to be in ASL."

"Oh," Cisco deflated.

"That all depends on what the judge says," Joe said, straightening up, "But if he okays it, we can expand the allowable area to include the event's location."

"Alright!!" Barry and Hartley high-fived each other. "That's great! We were **so** looking forward to this," Barry grinned.

* * * *

"I'm kinda not looking forward to this," Barry admitted. 

Hartley grinned at him, "Scared?" 

Barry nodded, grinning sheepishly as they walked, "Yeahhhh, I'm certain I'm totally going to sheep out and be like a deer in the headlights."

"Or sign the wrong thing and completely offend somebody," Hartley agreed. 

"Or someone's going to teach me the wrong sign for something and I'll be clueless and then I'll be the one signing for 'lesbian pizza.'"

"Ah, we're safe from that one, I looked it up." They laughed. "I'm right there with you, dude, I'm just as anxious," Hartley said.

They rounded the corner and stopped across from the pub. "Well, this is it," Barry said. 

Hartley winced. "All that noise is going to make my tinnitus even worse." He handed the jar of sanitising solution to Barry then went through the excrutiating process of extracting his implants. He stood for a moment with his eyes closed, letting himself adjust. Finally he opened his eyes and smiled bravely. 'Okay,' he signed. 

The event room was packed, with little easels on every table. They got into the line for canvases, feeling self-conscious among all the signers. Barry felt a tap on his arm and turned to see an older gentleman smiling at him. 'Hi! I haven't seen you before. Are you new?'

'Yes, I'm here with my friend,' Barry replied, tapping Hartley's shoulder. Hartley turned and smiled. 'My name is Barry, this is Hartley.'

'Nice to meet you. My name is Jim. This is my brother, Frank. Are you Deaf?'

Barry shook his head, 'I'm hearing.' 

'I'm deafened,' Hartley added, 'I'm learning to sign.'

'That's great!' Frank signed, 'Who is your teacher?'

'Carly,' Hartley answered, then used her sign name, 'We went to her Family Focused ASL weekend. We had a lot of fun.'

'We know Carly,' Jim smiled, 'She's here tonight. Come sit over here, there are enough chairs for us here.' Hartley and Barry glanced at each other and grinned, feeling like they'd just been adopted. 

They set up their canvases and smiled when Carly came to sit near their table, as did another person from their class. It was a relief to see some people they knew and knew they could communicate with. Then the host got up to open the event and introduce the lead artist and the interpreters, and the Paint Night got underway. 

Barry saw another woman carrying her canvas to a table and he had to sit on his hands to keep from jumping up and waving to her. 'That's Lara,' Carly signed, and thinking that Barry's expression was from the woman's bandages, added, 'She just got out of hospital. She got caught beneath a collapsing glass building and was saved by The Flash.'

'Really? That's great,' Barry smiled. He joined in the applause that was rising for the woman, lifting his hands and shaking them. 

A woman turned around and signed excitedly, 'Did you see the video on YouTube? The Flash signed to her! He knows sign language!'

Another man rolled his eyes, 'All police should know sign language.'

'Is Flash police?' asked their fellow student. Barry thought her name was Janet.

'Not exactly but he works with the police,' Barry replied, 'I'm a forensic scientist with the CCPD, so I know a little bit about it.'

Jim grinned excitedly, 'Do you know The Flash?'

Barry shook his head, 'Not really. I've only seen him once or twice but he seems like a nice guy.'

'Flash was really kind,' Lara signed, 'He stayed with me until the interpreter came. He said he's learning to sign. Are all police learning?'

Barry shook his head, 'Sorry, no. I'm learning to help my friend Hartley, after he lost his hearing.'

'Hartley, were you born hearing?' Janet asked.

'I was born hearing,' Hartley nodded, 'I worked at STAR Labs when the particle accelerator exploded. The explosion destroyed my hearing and deafened me.'

'Are your family learning to sign, too?' Carly asked. 

Hartley chewed his lip silently for a few moments. 'No,' he signed finally, 'My parents disowned me when they learned that I'm gay. Being deafened didn't help.'

He looked up at the feel of a hand on his shoulder, to see Frank smiling gently at him with tears in his eyes. 'I understand,' Frank signed, watching Hartley's face shift with realisation, 'And many others. I'll introduce you. You can find a new family.'

* * * *

'That was awesome! Your painting looks amazing,' Barry was signing one-handed so as not to drop his painting.

'So does yours.'

'Mine just looks like everyone else's. Yours is different. What is it?'

'Don't know,' Hartley shrugged, 'It's been haunting my nightmares for months. Yours looks wonderful. Your face when you came back with the drinks and saw what you had done!'

'As good as your face when you met Mike.'

Hartley grinned, 'Deafened in a rig explosion! He has the same kind of tinnitus! Who would have thought?' Barry laughed and shook his head. 'They were all so... welcoming.' Poor Hartley looked so bewildered. His parents clearly weren't the only rejection he'd endured; Barry wondered what else had happened in his friend's life. 'And who knew that half the Deaf LGBT community was there!'

'Frank knew,' Barry grinned slyly.

'Yeah! Wow.' Hartley glanced at him and spoke, "That doesn't bother you, does it?"

Barry rolled his eyes, "Hartley, you flirt with me. Of course it doesn't bother me."

"Just making sure," Hartley shrugged, "Sometimes, you think you can trust someone and it turns out you shouldn't have trusted them at all."

Barry touched Hartley's arm and turned him, placing both hands lightly on his shoulders. In a soft voice, he said, "You can trust me, Hartley."

Hartley stared at him, blinking slowly. He had beautiful eyes, deep pools drawing him closer until _what the hell am I doing?!_

Barry jerked back suddenly, his heart racing. "I..." he stammered, "I gotta... I gotta run... Thanks for.. Thanks!.. Um, I'll catch up with you later okay? Bye!" And he was gone, in a burst of wind and yellow lightning. 

"Right," Hartley sighed, "Glad you're not bothered." He stared down at the painting in his hands. The ankle bracelet felt heavy on his leg as he turned to walk back into STAR Labs. 

* * * *

Cisco bent over the Pied Piper's flute but he had to admit, he didn't have a clue what the hell he was looking at. The thing was just too crazy and he was no musician, not like that. There were so many levers and valves on it, he was surprised this whistle didn't have a few bells on it, too. And the Pied Piper had taken down Zoom with this thing. Cisco shook his head - Hartley might be a jerk but he was a genius jerk.

He heard footsteps and looked up to see the genius jerk himself storming down the hall, heading towards the Pipeline. "Right on time," Cisco called, "How was the Paint Nite?"

"Just fire me into the sun," Hartley shoved the painting at him as he passed.

"Dude, did something happen?" Cisco scrambled to catch it and turned it around. 

And stared at the ghostly black skeletal figure painted on the canvas.

**Author's Note:**

> Well now. With the time travel wrinkle, I really do not know how to continue these stories. It's hard to weave them in among the canon when the canon has taken several left turns at Albuquerque and wound up somewhere in Mongolia, possibly.


End file.
